That's Why We Don't Eat Animals

Ruby Roth's That's Why We Don't Eat Animals uses beautiful illustrations and appropriate language to teach children about veganism, factory farming, the environment, and the emotional lives of animals. Among the topics in That's Why We Don't Eat Animals are pets, animal families, chickens, turkeys, pigs, and cows. There's also a helpful "What Else Can We Do?" page.

The text confronts kids head-on with questions that will get them thinking, such as "Earth's oceans and rivers are truly being emptied of fish and sea mammals. Can you imagine an ocean with no fish?" The book ends with an important message for children and adults alike:

While the power of nature can move mountains and make rainbows, the power we have as humans is boundless too. Every day, we have the freedom to change our lives. In fact, when we treat animals respectfully, we practice world peace.

That's why we don't eat animals.

Roth lives in Los Angeles and is an artist, an author, a teacher, and a member of the tribe. "I'm a heeb myself!" she says. "Though my mother has been vegetarian all my life, she cooked my sisters and father (kosher) meat throughout our childhood, probably due to some pressure from the Hungarian grandparents! 'Eat, eat, eat, children!' But it wasn't until I was 21 that became vegan."

That's Why We Don't Eat Animals has received glowing endorsements from a pretty impressive list of people. Says Jane Goodall, "It will make children – and their parents – think. But it will not lead to nightmares, rather respect and compassion for the creatures whose wellbeing is in our hands."